Spalding,

I'm a big fan of using styles...making a recording from scratch doesn't interest me much anymore after years and years of studio work...perhaps it's just my natural laziness, but at this point in my life I want things to be fun and easy.

I have a very recent Cakewalk program...didn't even bother installing it...I like the immediacy and the fun of using the style...if I do any sort of editing, it is with the style...I like making my own so that my recording is different.

Also, recording a whole song without the thought of editing forces me to play an entire piece of music accurately...it may even involve a bit of practice, but in the long run, I benefit from this in my "live" performances.

I don't think of either way as being "better"...just what suits me more at the time.

If I do decide to go back to recording from scratch, I'd probably use a software sequencer.

To each his own...

Ian